The Los Angeles Lakers on potentially on the verge of signing another impactful player to a minimum contract.
The Los Angeles Lakers were four wins away from another NBA Finals appearance. With LeBron James officially back for at least one more run, the pressure is on to raise another banner in Staples Center before the King retires his crown (fine… Crypto.com Arena).
Los Angeles' front office has had a productive summer. Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura were both re-signed at below-market value. The Lakers upgraded the backup point guard spot with Gabe Vincent, acquired interesting depth pieces like Taurean Prince and Jaxson Hayes, and acquired two quality prospects in the NBA Draft.
Now, the initial torrent of free agent signings in the NBA has slowed to a staccato trickle. Only a few household names are left on the market, but the Lakers are evidently in the running for one of them as Rob Pelinka looks to fill out the team's remaining roster spots.
Los Angeles Lakers gaining momentum on potential Christian Wood signing
According to NBA insider Lauren Gunn, there are "rumblings" of the Lakers getting closer to signing Christian Wood on a minimum contract.
The Lakers have been connected to Wood for weeks now. Frankly, it's borderline absurd that Wood is available for the minimum and any hand-wringing over "character concerns" or effort level is entirely negated by the completely risk-free nature of a minimum contract in the NBA.
Wood averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds on 62.4 TS% with Dallas last season. It's not a stretch to call Wood one of the most skilled offensive centers in the NBA. He's deft handling the ball in space, making him a dynamic face-up scorer who's equally deadly in transition.
The Lakers would get a lot of mileage out of pick-and-roll actions involving Wood and LeBron. His ability to punish the defense from all three levels is not terribly common for a 7-footer, even in the modern NBA. Wood hit 37.6 percent of his 5.8 three-point attempts per game last season and he's a skilled finisher at the rim.
There are weaknesses in Wood's game, same as any player. He averaged the same number of turnovers as assists last season and he's a notoriously fickle defender, to the point where teams are evidently unwilling to make any level of financial commitment.
The knock on Wood has been his shoddy attitude and lack of commitment over the years. He has bounced around from Detroit to Houston to Dallas despite the obvious talent and now, he appears to be on his last legs if the next stop doesn't go well. There have been some outlandish remarks made about Wood's character, but by that same token, it's telling that Dallas has no interest in bringing him back — even at a discount — after such a productive season.
That said, the Lakers aren't even taking a risk here. If Wood doesn't work out on the veteran minimum, he can easily be waived and set aside. If he does work out, the Lakers have a potent offensive weapon who can share the frontcourt with Anthony Davis and potentially anchor the second unit.
Another team should probably step in and prevent the conference finalists from adding a major talent for next to nothing, but hey — that's the kind of luck LA tends to have.